Review: M-Audio Black Box, v2
Pages: 1, 2, 3, 4

Shifty Business

But wait a minute. What's a Twin Reverb without the 'verb? As originally released, the Black Box had none. Nor did it have midrange tone settings, even on models of amps with that control. Compression? Nope.

You must use Shift mode to access the new features. For instance, to add compression, first twist the second knob from the left and double-tap on the Amp button, and then twist the knob again.

There is no way to lock into Shift mode, so setting all three reverb parameters takes a whole lot of twisting and tapping. And we haven't even set the noise gate yet. If ever a device were in need of a software editor, this is it.

Big Noise

Among the 40 amp choices are numerous models of modern high-gain and boutique amplifiers. That puts me at a disadvantage; I've never played through a Bogner Ecstasy, ENGL Powerball, or Matchless Chieftain, to name but three. So do the models sound like the real thing? I haven't a clue. All I know is that they sound very good:

• Example 2. Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier Solo (372K MP3)

The models do not faithfully recreate every parameter of the originals. You get just four controls: bass, midrange, treble, and drive. (Though Nigel Tufnel would be envious--the drive on this one goes to 99!) Nor can you choose among speaker cabinets or mic placements.

I asked Linn how the amp models--specifically the cabinet settings--were developed. He replied, "We modeled the cabinets that come with each amp. Where cabinet options existed, we chose the one users liked best. And we didn't actually apply the same set of tone-shaping parameters to each amp. The entire audio path of each model is uniquely modeled after the real amp: the preamp overdrive, tone control frequencies and range, power amp, speaker, cabinet, and the mic most often used in classic recordings of that amp."

That's good to know, but I'm not sure how much the authenticity matters. I look at amp modeling as a creative tool, and the Black Box delivers a wide palette indeed. Check out the audio clips on M-Audio's website for more examples. For those who crave more flexibility, there's the AdrenaLinn.

The Black Box now includes a handful of bass amps as well. But watch out--I encountered clipping and distortion sometimes, even with levels well in the safety zone. M-Audio is working on the problem; for now, tech support suggests lowering the preset volume (via the Utility menu) when you play bass. Preset 00 bypasses all of the modeling and effects for the pure DI sound many bassists prefer.

I was curious how the unit would sound with my acoustic guitar. I recorded Example 3 direct, using a piezo pickup and the Microphone Preamp model. Not bad, but I wish I had some parametric EQ and microphone modeling to fatten up the tone.

• Example 3. Acoustic guitar DI (416K MP3)

(Insider tip: Although there's no true parametric EQ, setting the effect to Fixed Filter calls up a variable-frequency, mixable bandpass filter, giving you most of the benefits of a parametric EQ.)

Poetic Effects

The amps are cool, but effects are what it's all about. I already mentioned the slick beat-synced tremolo, but wait until you hear some of the others:

• Example 4. The infamous Pink Thing electric dulcimer gets filter-sequenced (328K MP3)
• Example 5. Sequence effects on a bass (296K MP3)

It's a huge tool kit. There's everything from chorus, flanger, phaser, and rotary speaker simulation to variations on the auto-wah theme, to oddly compelling filter sequences, to drool-free talkbox effects. Many effects were ported from the AdrenaLinn and simply cannot be described without resorting to bad poetry. To say the effects are inspiring is sort of like saying the Grand Canyon is a ditch.

The 20 arpeggio sequences are weirdly wild. No, they won't arpeggiate chords held on your guitar. Instead you trigger a fixed sequence of notes--major, minor, Lydian, etc.--no matter what you play:

• Example 6. Lydian mode arpeggio (312K MP3)

Everything syncs flawlessly to tap-tempo, the internal drumbeats, or (when connected to a computer) your sequencer's tempo map.

By default, the microphone input bypasses all of the modeling and effects. You can change the routing via a computer control panel (see Figure 3). Isn't it nice to know you can create sonic mayhem on your vocals, too?

Figure 3. The software control panel is pretty basic. Use it to archive and restore your patches and to route the signal from the Hi-Z or mic input through the effects.

Although the Black Box isn't a true multi-effects processor, the intoxicating beat-synced delay effect is always available. Oh, I can quibble--where's the panning-multitap-ping-pong-lo-fi tape delay? For that matter, where's the panning? But let's talk about creating a delay that repeats every two measures! Of course, you can always dial in delays manually (up to 2,511 milliseconds) for that old-school sound. And most of the 121 effects include auto-panning, albeit with fixed settings.